CHAPTER 17: Her loose hair twisted like a rope in Ji Jing’s palm

Su Jiasui very much wanted to snatch that test paper, tear it up, throw it in Ji Mutian’s face, warn her to mind her own business, and then grab Ji Jing by the hair and give him two hard slaps.

But thinking it over… that was way too much like a vicious supporting female character. Honestly, even more dramatic than the actual male and female leads.

In the end, Su Jiasui only said, “Nice handwriting.”

Then she turned and left.

She had no idea how much those three light words had startled Tang Shu. In a low voice, Tang Shu muttered, “Of all people, she just had to see it.”

Ji Mutian gripped her pen, flustered. “S-should I go explain to her…?”

“As if she’d listen to your explanation.”

“…”

“It’s fine. Don’t be scared. After what happened last time, she probably won’t dare do anything.”

Tang Shu said a lot to comfort her, and only then did Ji Mutian feel a bit more at ease.

Just before morning self-study ended, a teacher walked in and called out, “Su Jiasui, go change your clothes. The flag-raising starts in twenty minutes.”

Snapping out of her messy thoughts, Su Jiasui suddenly realized she hadn’t even finished a quarter of the test paper. “Damn it…”

“Hurry, hurry,” the teacher urged anxiously. “You’re gonna be late!”

Normally, third-year students didn’t have to participate in the flag-raising ceremony. But today was the military training review for the new first-years, and Su Jiasui was the only female flag escort—and the lead one at that. She’d been doing it for two whole years now.

Back when she was in her own military training, the head instructor had singled her out for praise multiple times, saying her march was so standard, it was like she’d served in the army.

Su Jiasui didn’t really think that was a compliment, but the school leadership was super proud of it. Every time there was a big event being filmed, they’d call her up to represent the school. After all, a tall, beautiful girl with great spirit and energy—put her in a flag escort uniform, with epaulets and a cap, and she looked valiant and striking, walking like the wind. She was more than presentable—good enough to be on local TV.

Chen Xu leaned against the window, gazing toward the main stage where Su Jiasui stood at attention, and turned his head to Ji Jing. “If I were Sister Sui, I’d be dying of embarrassment.”

Ji Jing sat by the window, the best seat for viewing the flag-raising: “You’re like a dog meat bun—not fit for the banquet.”

“Tch, like I even want to be on that stage. Just look at me—I’m way better than those other flag bearers back there.”

“Don’t talk like a fox who can’t reach the grapes and says they’re sour.”

“What’s with you today? You keep roasting me.”

“Am I?”

Ji Jing wasn’t even paying attention to Chen Xu. He was fiddling with his soon-to-be-retired Nokia E71, trying hard to take a picture of Su Jiasui. But no matter how he adjusted it, the photo came out blurry. You could barely tell which one was her.

“Chen Xu! Close the window and sit down—we’re going over questions now!”

“…Okay…”

To the third-years, the flag-raising was over once the flag reached the top and the national anthem ended.

But Su Jiasui, as the lead flag escort, had to stay at the base of the main stage until the review officially started.

It was mid-September, the tail end of summer heat. At 8 a.m., the sun was already blazing, and that thick ceremonial uniform felt like a mobile sauna.

Looking at the patch of shiny bald scalp on the head of a school leader, Su Jiasui, for the first time, felt a deep dissatisfaction with the world.

But the sun was innocent. The uniform was innocent. The shiny scalp was even more innocent.

Ultimately, the real problem was Ji Mutian helping Ji Jing with his homework.

The plot of Little Rose flashed through Su Jiasui’s mind. She didn’t have the kind of photographic memory that let her recall every line, but she remembered the general outline and some key points.

After the homework help, there was supposedly a romantic encounter. Ji Jing would start to fall for Ji Mutian, then turn back to look at the girlfriend he’d picked out of spite for his grandfather—ugh, everything about her would suddenly seem unbearable. Then came the breakup.

If Su Jiasui weren’t that unlucky girlfriend, she might’ve even praised Ji Jing for being “decent.” At least he wasn’t the kind of scumbag who cheated while pretending to stay loyal.

But since she was the one in the bowl, there was no way she could take it calmly.

Whether it was because of love or possessiveness, Su Jiasui believed she had to stay alert. She couldn’t just let the story unfold step by step like that.

“Welcome to Xinghai High School’s 2010 military training review for new students—now officially beginning!”

At the school leader’s shout, the sun-drenched “little soldiers” sprang into action. Fists raised to their chests, they turned right in unison and jogged like clockwork toys—clack clack clack—quickly lining up into their class formations.

A few of the second-year flag escorts let out a breath of relief. “Sister Sui, can we go now?”

“Yeah.” Su Jiasui led them down from the stage. She wiped her nose—already covered in sweat—and the sweat nearly trickled down her face. She went straight to the logistics teacher to get the key to the bathhouse and took them there to shower.

The Xinghai High bathhouse only opened at 4:30 p.m. and was usually reserved for boarders. The school was super strict about this—no exceptions. So when the flag escorts realized they’d gotten special treatment after sweating buckets, they were thrilled. They surrounded Su Jiasui, singing her praises.

But as soon as they reached the door of the bathhouse, they scattered.

“You skipped class and came here—what are you doing?”

“Waiting for you.”

Su Jiasui looked at Ji Jing, smiled, and opened the door to the boys’ shower room. She turned to the flag bearers and said, “Don’t dawdle, guys. Hurry up, wash quickly, and get back.”

At school, Ji Jing had a reputation for being aloof and unapproachable. The flag bearers instinctively tensed up around him, responding like timid little lambs before scurrying into the showers.

Su Jiasui then went to open the girls’ shower room. “What, planning to shower with me?”

Ji Jing was used to his girlfriend blurting out outrageous things, but he still felt his face heat up. “What are you saying?”

“So you’re planning to stand guard at the door for me?”

“……”

Su Jiasui turned to face him, doing her best not to lose her temper over the fact that Ji Jing let Ji Mutian do his homework. “I remember you said yesterday you were going to study hard.”

Ji Jing looked down, his eyes wandering over his shoes. “Mr. Li goes through the problems too fast. I can’t keep up.”

Under Su Jiasui’s constant supervision these past two years, Ji Jing had barely managed to scrape by in math and English. Physics, though, was a total disaster. To put it nicely, he had a weak foundation. To put it bluntly, he didn’t get it at all.

But it wasn’t an unfixable problem. Science subjects didn’t require rote memorization. There was still nearly a year before the college entrance exam. With some effort, he could catch up.

“Then stop hovering outside the girls’ showers. It’s weird if someone sees you. Go find a shady spot and review some vocabulary. I’ll be out after a quick rinse.”

“Okay.”

Ji Jing moved over to the boys’ side and sat on the edge of a flowerbed, thinking of his girlfriend’s sweat-slicked face, her bright eyes, and couldn’t help but smile.

Ji Jing truly believed that Su Jiasui, bare-faced and even a little disheveled, looked a hundred times more beautiful than when she was all dressed up. Especially after a game of badminton, with flushed cheeks, quick breaths, a few damp strands of hair stuck to her neck, sweat trickling down her collarbone and into her shirt—she felt warm, soft, full of life. Just looking at her made Ji Jing’s heart race.

It felt like he was raising a restless little sparrow inside his chest, flapping and flailing, never sitting still.

Su Jiasui showered quickly, like a guy would, though she did have to blow-dry her hair. She came out a bit later than the other flag bearers. Because Ji Jing was waiting outside, she didn’t dry her hair all the way. It was still fluffy and messy, the ends damp, hanging loosely around her shoulders.

Ji Jing stood up on the flowerbed. “Come here, I’ll tie your hair up.”

“No need. Class starts in ten minutes. I’ll get Chengzi to do it.”

“It’s so hot—just let me try. I just learned a new trick.”

“…Fine.”

Su Jiasui walked up to him and turned her back. “How are you going to do it?”

Ji Jing gathered all of her hair into his hands, pulling it nearly to the top of her head. “Spin. Turn in circles.”

As Su Jiasui spun, her loose hair twisted tighter in Ji Jing’s hands. He hooked a hair tie around his finger, gritted his teeth, and held his breath—his expression was like he was defusing a bomb. Carefully, he tied a neat, firm bun and even secured it with two more hair ties for extra hold.

“Perfect—”

Su Jiasui checked her reflection in a window and was pleasantly surprised. “Where’d you learn that?”

Ji Jing looked quite pleased with himself. “I saw a guy do it for his daughter at the kindergarten gate the other day. Worked like a charm.”

Su Jiasui turned to look at him, silent for a moment before asking, “What are you doing next Wednesday?”

Next Wednesday was the Mid-Autumn Festival—and also Ji Jing’s birthday.

“No idea.” Ji Jing jumped down from the flowerbed and took the garment bag from her hands. “Do we even get a holiday for Mid-Autumn?”

“I think we get one day off in senior year. At least we did last year.”

“…So, do you have to be home that day?”

“I’ll probably have to eat dinner at home, but I can be with you during the day. What do you want for your birthday?”

“Who just asks that directly?”

“Give me a direction then.”

“Let me think about it.”

“Okay.”

The military training review was still going on. The class bell hadn’t rung, so the seniors hadn’t left the teaching building. They stood in pairs and small groups along the open corridors, watching the commotion on the sports field.

Ji Jing accompanied Su Jiasui to return the ceremonial uniforms and shower keys, then went with her to the campus store to buy popsicles. Su Jiasui was obsessed with Wangwang Sui Bingbing—she could go through over a hundred in a summer. Ji Jing always thought the way she ate them was like someone smoking: whenever she was stressed or frustrated, she had to have one.

Right now, she was eating one and holding another in her hand.

“You’re in a bad mood?” Ji Jing asked cautiously.

“Nope.” Su Jiasui bit off a chunk of her popsicle and sucked out the sweet syrup inside.

“…I was thinking of going back to the countryside for Mid-Autumn.”

“The countryside? Your grandpa’s place? Oh! The rice field crabs must be ready by now, right?”

Ji Jing nodded. “They’re just about in season. And remember? My grandpa’s yard has a huge pomelo tree.”

Last year, when Ji Jing went back, he brought home a bunch of river crabs and pomelos. Technically, the Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs were fatter and the Shatian pomelos from Guangxi were sweeter, but what Ji Jing brought back was the taste of his childhood.

“Of course I remember. Great, it’s settled then—we’ll celebrate your birthday in the countryside this year.” Su Jiasui took another bite of her now-flattened popsicle and said cheerfully, “I’ll ask Chengzi if she wants to come too.”

Ji Jing wasn’t thrilled about bringing a third wheel. “Mid-Autumn is a family holiday. She should probably be with her parents.”

“Just asking. What if her parents are away on a business trip and she’s all alone? That’d be sad.”

“But what about her motion sickness? It’s a two-hour ride.”

“No biggie. She can take meds for that.” Su Jiasui shoved the unopened popsicle into his hand, clearly in a much better mood.

At that point, Ji Jing couldn’t argue anymore and just silently hoped that Cheng Xiangxue’s money-hungry parents would come home for Mid-Autumn.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. The day before the holiday, Cheng’s father called to inform her—regretfully—that due to work, he and his wife couldn’t make it home until the end of the month.

Cheng Xiangxue hadn’t placed much hope in the trip to begin with, and was more than happy to tag along with Su Jiasui to the countryside.

She didn’t feel like a burden, mainly because Chen Xu was going too.

In previous years, Chen Xu’s grandmother had forbidden his father from returning home—she believed he had abandoned his wife and child, and said someone like him didn’t deserve to set foot in the old Chen family home. But maybe her health had started to decline this year, and her heart had softened. She wanted to enjoy the joy of having her children and grandchildren around for once. So, she generously allowed Chen Xu’s father to bring along his new wife and their younger son for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Since the whole family would be gathering, his second uncle and aunt would naturally be present too.

Chen Xu didn’t want to put on a show with those people, pretending to be one big happy family. But he also didn’t want to ruin his grandma’s mood by sulking the whole time, so he simply slipped away under the excuse of celebrating Ji Jing’s birthday.

Since there was no way around bringing Chen Xu, Ji Jing didn’t mind one more person tagging along.

It’s just that…

“Happy birthday, Ji Jing.” Jiang Yan handed over his gift a little awkwardly. It was wrapped in kraft paper and tied with twine into a neat bow. “It’s some smoked cured meat from my hometown.”

Standing beside him, Su Jiasui added, “Jiang Yan’s parents had to work today, and his aunt went back home. No one’s at my place either—everyone went to my grandpa’s for the holiday. So he’s joining us on the trip. Look, my dad thought we might have trouble catching a ride, so he asked Uncle Zhang to drive us himself.”

Ji Jing had his guard up around Jiang Yan, but he wasn’t the kind of person to kick up a fuss over baseless suspicion. He smiled politely and accepted the gift. “Thanks,” he said courteously, then turned to the driver’s seat. “Sorry for the trouble, Uncle Zhang. Making a trip like this during the holidays.”

“No trouble at all, no trouble,” Uncle Zhang replied cheerfully. “Actually, it works out—I’m stopping by my father-in-law’s place in Taoyuan anyway. Just give me a call half an hour before you want to head back tonight, and I’ll come pick you up.” After a pause, he added sincerely, “Happy birthday, Xiao Jing.”

“Thanks, Uncle Zhang.” Ji Jing pressed his lips into a smile that, for a moment, looked almost dainty—like a well-mannered little girl.

In Su Jiasui’s eyes, her boyfriend was generally pretty well-behaved and sensible. If he had a flaw, it was that he liked to goof off a bit, lacked patience, and didn’t bother being polite to people who tried to curry favor with him because of his family background—but given his age and upbringing, it wasn’t exactly unforgivable.

He wasn’t anything like the arrogant, rebellious, rude delinquent in the novel—always fighting and posturing, let alone “bullying” his female classmates.

In fact, based on her quiet observations over the past week or so, Ji Jing hadn’t had any interaction with Ji Mutian at all. According to the usual plot formula, the male lead’s birthday should be the perfect moment for a romantic encounter with the female lead. But Ji Jing was heading back to his grandfather’s in the countryside—there was no way he’d run into Ji Mutian there.

Because of that, Su Jiasui once again shoved Little Rosebud to the back of her mind and fully embraced her wonderful reality.

“Ji Jing, come help move the grill into the trunk. Chen Xu, go grab those two boxes from the kitchen. Once Chengzi gets here, we can head out!”

Su Jiasui was great at giving orders, and her tone was rarely what you’d call polite.

Because she was the sole leader of Ji Jing’s birthday planning committee, Chen Xu had no choice but to endure it. Yawning repeatedly, he dragged his feet toward the kitchen.

“I’ll help you carry them,” Jiang Yan offered. “Those boxes are pretty heavy.”

Chen Xu thought, How heavy could they be?—and then, a second later, yelled, “What the hell—these are bricks?!”

“It’s just some meat and ice packs,” Jiang Yan replied calmly.

“This thing’s gotta be sixty or seventy pounds, at least!”

“Sounds about right. If it’s too much, just leave it there—I’ll carry it.”

With that, Jiang Yan picked up a foam box with a smile and walked off.

Chen Xu watched him go, ground his teeth twice in frustration, took a deep breath—and still couldn’t lift the box.

It was that damn heavy.

Standing by the door, their “leader” had a perfect view of Jiang Yan’s dramatic return for the second box. Chen Xu really didn’t want to walk out empty-handed and be met with that mocking look. He knew Su Jiasui would never let it go.

“Tch.” Su Jiasui, as expected, didn’t disappoint. She gave him a once-over and said, “Your health is the foundation of the revolution, you know. You really need to work on your strength.”

Chen Xu felt his dislike for Su Jiasui was fully justified. When he mocked her, it was petty revenge—a bit of malicious mischief. But when she mocked him, it came from genuine feeling—seemingly out of concern, but each word laced with thorns. Every jab hit the mark.

His face flushed bright red, and he couldn’t come up with a single comeback.

Once everything was loaded in the car, Cheng Xiangxue finally arrived—waving enthusiastically before she even stepped through the door. “Hey, Bother Jing! Happy birthday! Come check out my gift!”

Her present was a pair of classic Air Force 1s, but the uppers were covered in messy, colorful graffiti—very artsy.

Ji Jing stared at the curly-haired teddy bear doodled between the swooshes, took a deep breath, and forced a smile. “Thanks. Thanks, I really like them.” If he hadn’t been grinding his teeth, it might’ve sounded more genuine.

“As long as you like it! Wow—Jiang Yan! You’re going too?”

Watching Cheng Xiangxue bounce over to Jiang Yan, Ji Jing suddenly found her much more pleasant to look at.

Su Jiasui double-checked the contents of the trunk and, once satisfied that nothing had been left behind, clapped her hands. “Everyone’s here! Let’s move out!” Her energy was like a general commanding troops.

As usual, Cheng Xiangxue claimed the front passenger seat. The moment she got in, she spotted the family photo hanging from the rearview mirror and burst into laughter. “Sister Sui, that look of yours is amazing. You’re straight-up a Qing dynasty princess!”

“It was taken at the Forbidden City. I said it looked ridiculous, but my mom insisted on hanging it up.”

Since they had a large group this time, they took Ms. Sun’s Buick GL8—a spacious 7-seater MPV, far more comfortable than cramming into a small car.

Chen Xu and Jiang Yan sat in the back row, Su Jiasui and Ji Jing took the middle, and Cheng Xiangxue had to twist her whole upper body around just to talk to Jiang Yan. Su Jiasui was genuinely worried she’d throw out her back if she stayed like that for two hours. “Before we get on the highway, how about this—Ji Jing, why don’t you switch seats with Jiang Yan?”

Ji Jing glanced at Cheng Xiangxue. “Don’t you get carsick?”

“Weird, right? But today, I’m actually not feeling it at all.”

Chen Xu leaned out from the back seat and glared at Cheng Xiangxue. “Just admit it! You’re not actually carsick!”

Cheng Xiangxue looked more wronged than Dou E. “I really am carsick! If you don’t believe me, look—I even brought motion sickness medicine.”

“Then go sit in the back.”

“No way, I’ll get sick.”

“But didn’t you say you weren’t carsick today?!”

Su Jiasui was getting a headache. She had no idea why riding in a car would lead to a fight. “Uncle Zhang, can you put on some music?”

Uncle Zhang had been waiting for this and immediately turned on the stereo.

The first song fully showcased Ms. Sun’s bold and unrestrained middle-aged taste.

♪ “I look up… above the moon—” ♪

Though Cheng Xiangxue wasn’t thrilled, she still couldn’t help humming along with Linghua: “So many dreams flying freely, yesterday forgotten, sorrow dried in the wind…”

Su Jiasui laughed and hugged the neck pillow on her seat, putting her soul into it: “I want to meet you again… on that boundless road—”

Cheng Xiangxue turned back and grinned, completely forgetting to act ladylike in front of Jiang Yan: “Your distant place… is heaven—”

Honestly speaking, neither of them sang well. Even when they were on key, it still had a bit of that howling-cat vibe.

Chen Xu clenched his fists and endured it. Just as he made it through Above the Moon, they launched into Love Is a Transaction.

It was over.

That song had taken the country by storm. Everyone and their grandma knew it by heart. Even Jiang Yan had memorized the lyrics.

It would take a person with serious self-control not to sing along.

At a ninety-second red light in the city center, Cheng Xiangxue suddenly belted out, “You were the one who wanted to break up!” and the cars on both sides chimed in almost at the same time: “Break up it is—!”

Ji Jing was filming with his DSLR, his hands shaking from laughter.